The Battle We Must All Fight
by Ami-chan94
Summary: Merope Prewett is an ordinary witch attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, who holds secrets even she does not know. Over the course of her seven years, she encounters many friends, enemies and a certain spoiled cousin. These secrets will come to her overtime and will transform a quiet girl into an adroit witch.
1. Chapter 1

It was September 1st, the first day of school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and many students and their parents were busy making their way to the Hogwarts Express. Among them was a young woman and her ward, making their way through the crowd.

Leora Prest was the guardian of a young Merope Prewett, her best friend's daughter. Her parents had died suddenly of illness when she was a toddler, or so the girl had been told. There were many secrets surrounding her life, that would all be revealed in time.

"Do you have all of your supplies?" Leora asked as she and Merope walked down the Platform of King's Cross Station.

"Yes" Merope rolled her eyes a little, this was the third time today her guardian had asked her that question.

"All your books, your potions supplies, your robes- Oh! where's Timtam?' Leora asked suddenly, face paling.

"He's right here," the girl said, pointing to her kitten who was fast sleep in his cage.

"Oh, well, right then"

"How much farther is it Leora? This cart is rather heavy"

"Not far love, see? Platform 9 is right up ahead"

"But we need 9 3/4!" Her guardian's eyes twinkled when she said this.

"Follow me, I'll show you how it's done" Leora sped up her pace so that they stood roughly 10 meters from the center of the column that read "9". She began to explain to the young girl.

"Now, Merope, I want you to take your cart, and run right through this column" Merope's face paled.

"Have you gone mental? I'll crash!"

"No dear, you won't. I promise. It's magic, keeps the muggles out of our hair. Try it!"

Merope took a deep breath and gripped her cart until her knuckles were white. She gave the cart a push to get her started and began to jog towards the bricks.

"A little faster," Leora called, "I'll be right behind you!"

She started running, watching the column draw closer and closer. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she felt her palms grow slippery on the metal handle of her cart, she kept going though. As she reached the wall, she closed her eyes, waiting for impact. She let out a little squeal in anticipation and braced herself.

But it never came.

She opened her eyes to see herself on a different platform, an older-looking one. Off on the tracks was an old train labeled the Hogwarts Express, and the words "Platform 9 3/4" gleamed down at her from the column she entered through. She kept moving forward in order to be near the train, but she looked back to find Leora.

That was when she felt impact.

"Oof!" she grunted as the cart handle hit her square in the chest and she fell back. She heard some one scream "Bloody hell!" from the other side of the cart. She picked herself up and ran to see who she had hit.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry! It was my first time going through the wall and I wasn't watching myself, here let me help you-" the boy shook out of her grip and stood up to dust himself off. He had platinum blonde hair that was slicked back, pale skin and grey eyes. Her eyes.

"Don't touch me you filth," Merope was a little shocked when he said that, but noticed two people running towards them, probably his parents.

"Draco, my dear, what happened?" the woman said, kneeling to get a good look at the boy

"This stupid girl does not know how to watch where she is going!" he said 'girl' like some would say 'bogart'

I'm terribly sorry ma'am I lost control of my cart going through the wall, I hope he isn't injured,"

"I'm FINE!" Draco yelled, trying to get away from his mother. Merope turned and noticed the man who was also standing there, who must have been Draco's father. He seemed to be watching her intently, which made her a little nervous.

"And who are you?" he asked in a firm voice

"Merope, sir. Merope Prewett" his eyes narrowed at that.

"Don't _lie_ to me, girl" he hissed, gripping his walking stick.

"But-but I'm-"

"Oh! Merope! There you are I'd thought-" Leora came up behind Merope and stopped talking when she saw who she was standing with. "Oh"

"Miss Prest, I presume," The man spat

"Hello Lucius," Leora said back. The two stared at each other until they were interrupted by the train whistle.

"Goodbye," Lucius said curtly, taking his wife and son elsewhere. As they walked away Draco turned around and stuck his tongue out at Merope, who returned the gesture, making him turn back around.

"Who were they? They seemed upset," Merope asked her worried guardian

"They are not nice people love, I think you should try to stay away from that boy"

" Did you know them?"

"Your mother and I were a few years behind them in school. Your father he-" she stopped and looked at the curious child who stood before her, her grey eyes seeking to understand.

"He what?" Leora knelt down to be at eye level with her dear friend's daughter.

"Merope, I am about to tell you something of great importance. It must be kept a secret though, no one can know. Do you understand?" Merope nodded and she continued.

"Your father came from a very prestigious pureblood family. Very old blood, and the family is very purist. They wanted to form a world without muggles. Your father did not hold the same beliefs as his family and was outcasted. That man you just met is your uncle. He is a very bad man, you are not to go near him. He will hurt you"

Merope shivered at those last four words, trying to understand what she was just told.

"Does that mean I am a Malfoy too?"

"Yes, but you do not want people to know that. Your last name is Prewett for that reason. Being known as a Malfoy is not a good thing love" Leora had made sure that Merope's last name was Prewett of every form she filled out concerning her. Since the first wizarding war, family names became even more important, and even more dangerous.

"My parents didn't really die from Dragon Pox did they?" she asked suddenly, making Leora's face fall.

"No love, I can't tell you what happened now, you're too young to know. I will tell you some day I promise you," Merope was slightly hurt but she understood there was a time and place for everything.

The train whistle sounded again, signaling for everyone to board.

"You need to get on now love, don't want to miss the train," Leora smiled weakly at her ward and ruffled her bushy blonde hair.

"I'll miss you," Merope said, hugging her

"I'll miss you too love. Be good, and write me as soon as you're sorted!" she helped Merope get her luggage into her compartment and waved to her as the train pulled out of the station.

"Goodbye!" Merope yelled from her window, and waved back until the platform was out of site.

She settled down in the plush seats and reflected on the events of the day. What made her uncle such a bad person? Why couldn't Leora tell her about what happened to her parents? Were they bad people too? Timtam snapped her out of her thoughts as he began to stir in his cage. She let him out and he crawled up into her lap and went back to sleep.

"Cats have it so easy" she said, stroking his ears, "You don't have to worry about things like this," she gazed at the countryside going by her out the window and lost herself in thought once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Merope had taken to reading her "Hogwarts, A History" textbook over the next hour, becoming particularly interested with the story of the cockatrice that was turned loose during the Triwizard Tournament of 1792 when a knock came at her compartment door. Without hesitation, the door was flung open and a whirlwind of a girl burst into the cabin.

"Hullo, mind if I sit with you? Everywhere else looks full," She has straight auburn hair pulled up into a messy ponytail, with big brown eyes and a bandaid covering her left elbow.

"Er, go ahead," Merope said, moving Timtam's cage to make room for the new girl. She sat down opposite of her and put her owl's cage down.

"I'm Carla, nice to meet you," She said brightly, happy to have found a place to sit.

"Merope, nice to meet you too,"

"Well Merope, would you like a chocolate frog?"

"Sure," Carla fished in to her pocket and pulled out two boxes and handed one to the blonde. She opened the box to reveal the squirming confectionary and wrinkled her nose slightly.

"They're almost kind of gross to eat because it's like they're alive," Carla noted, finishing hers in two bites "but you get over it, they're delicious,"

Merope took a small bite of one of it's legs and the frog stopped squirming, she nibbled on the rest of it. At the bottom of the box was a card. She took it out and examined the person's busk on the front of it.

"Ooh, who'd you get?"

"Sacariss Tugwood, the potioneer who made those cosmetic potions," Merope put the card in her textbook to use as a bookmark, it was clear that she wouldn't be getting any reading done.

"I got Godric Gryffindor, I got him last time too," Carla grumbled, disposing of the card to her owl who picked at it happily.

For the next quarter of an hour they discussed what Merope was reading in her textbook so far. Well, rather Merope was talking fervently about the subject and Carla was more focused of what a cockatrice looked like.

"I bet theyre, like, a hundred feet tall! And- and they can breathe fire and shoot spells from their eyes!" A knock suddenly came at the door and a sandy-haired boy poked his head into the compartment.

"Mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full," he said in the thick Irish accent

"Not at all," The girls said, making room for another person in their small space

"I'm Seamus by the way, Seamus Finnegan," Merope and Carla said their hellos and Carla passed their new friend a Chocolate Frog, which he gladly took.

"So what house do you think you'll be sorted into?" he asked, finishing off his sweet.

"Gryffindor, for sure!" Carla said with fierce confidence "I've got the guts,"

"Me too!" Seamus beamed, glad to have found a common interest, " Me mum was in Gryffindor too, she loved it. Me dad is a muggle though, didn't know about her being a witch until after they were married. Gave him quite the shock,"

"I'm a muggle born," Carla noted "My parents thought the acceptance letter was a joke at first!" Seamus and Carla laughed at that and Merope cracked a small smile

"What about you Merope?" Seamus asked. She paused for a moment, considering what she had been told about her parents.

"Well," she began, "My mum was in Ravenclaw, and my dad was in Slytherin, or so I'm told. So it will probably be in one of those two,"

"Or so you were told?" Carla asked

"I never met them really, they died when I was really young. . . from Dragon Pox," She'd thought about the story she had been told for years.

"Me great aunt died from that, nasty disease," Seamus offered, "Where did you live after?"

"I live with my mum's best friend from school, she's like a godparent I guess. She was in Hufflepuff with at Hogwarts,"

"Well, maybe you'll be in Ravenclaw like your mother, no one really wants to be in Slytherin, loads of dark wizards and witches in there," Merope felt a little offended of what Seamus said, she was still hoping that her dad wasn't a evil.

"Well, we can all guess who is going to be the newest addition to Gryffindor this year," Seamus said with a big grin, leaving Merope and Carla looking confused. "Harry Potter of course! I heard he's on this train right now!"

"Who?" Carla finally asked

"What do you mean who?" Seamus said, raising his voice in disbelief, "The boy who lived, that who!"

"Oh, right," Merope muttered, remembering the stories Leora had told her.

"I still don't know what your talking about," Carla said, a little frustrated

"She's a muggleborn, she wouldn't know about this Seamus," Merope said plainly, "Carla, Harry Potter was a baby boy who supposedly defeated a very dark wizard who had tormented the wizarding world for decades,"

"Oh, well what was his name? The dark wizards?"

"We. . . aren't supposed to say it," Seamus said, fidgeting in his seat.

"It's supposed to be bad luck to say his name,"

"Right, well you two are a lot of pansies," She giggled, flicking Seamus' nose, "Afraid of a bloody name," The two blushed, it did sound a little silly when Carla put it like that.

Merope looked down at her lap, which still held a sleeping Timtam, all curled up into a tiny ball. She stroked his tail and he woke up, making a very big yawn. Suddenly, another knock came at the door and an older boy poked his head in.

"We'll be at school in about 45 minutes, so you should put your robes on soon," The children chorused that they would and he left. The three pulled out the plain black robes that all first years had to buy and pulled them on. After the sorting ceremony, however, they would receive their uniforms, decorated with their house colors.

The train soon came to a stop and everyone emerged from the train. In the sea of black robes a very tall man stood out, calling for the first years to come to him. There were roughly 60 students who were escorted to the lake that the school was banked on, and they crossed the dark waters in boats.

The water was pitch black, which frightened Merope a bit, especially since Carla was rocking the boat at a dangerous curve as she peaked over the sides claiming she saw something. Despite this, everyone made it to the shore safely and they made their way up to the castle. They were told by the man, who had said his name was Hagrid, that they were heading the the Great Hall, where they would be sorted in to their respective houses and then would feast.

Through the crowd, Merope found Draco, boy she had bumped into earlier, and had found out that he was her cousin. After studying him, she realized how similar they look (even though she would not have liked to admit it). They both has platinum blonde hair with pale skin and striking grey eyes and similar builds. She distanced herself from him though, noticing that he was being snubbed by a boy with messy black hair and broken glasses. He look angry, which frightened Merope for it made him look like his father. Suddenly, an older woman stepped in to the hallway, silencing the crowd.

"We will begin the sorting ceremony shortly," she proclaimed.

* * *

**Hello readers, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I would love some feedback if it's not too much trouble, and ill post as often as I can (:**


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